


Letters to Her Doctor

by Skyler10



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Diary/Journal, F/M, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:06:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyler10/pseuds/Skyler10
Summary: The Doctor would normally never read someone’s diary. Especially Rose’s. But this wasn’t really a diary. In fact, each entry was not only a beautifully handwritten letter, but every one of those letters was addressed to him.





	Letters to Her Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from an ask to @doctorroseprompts by @darthtella (and encouraged by a Nonny), sorry not much angst, but hopefully still some feels. (Only a very, very slight T for the wink at the end.)

They had only been back in this universe a three days, but Rose had to go into work for a few hours at Torchwood for debriefing and to officially shut down the cannon. Then, she promised, they would spend the whole week together, just the two of them, getting to know one another again and showing him around and helping him set up a life on the slow path. Oh, and on that note, finding a proper incubator for the baby TARDIS coral.

 

She had already left when he’d woken up this morning. He rolled over for a morning cuddle, but the only thing on her side of the bed had been this journal.

 

It was practically begging to be read.

 

No, he shouldn’t.

 

He made himself some toast with plenty of jam. He went for a run. He showered. He ate a banana. No matter how hard he tried to distract himself, the journal was just _there_. Taunting him.

 

He looked around, as if someone would be watching him in this flat where he was very much alone. Shaking his head at his own silliness, he approached her side of the bed and resigned himself to the weakness impeding his ability to resist. He lifted the cover. Alright, no “keep out” messages; that was a good sign. He flipped the pages. Years worth of entries.

 

But they weren’t simple diary entries. They were letters. All addressed to him. Well, far be it from him to not read his own correspondence, right?

 

The writing on the first page broke his heart and rebuilt it all at once.

 

_Dear Doctor,_

 

_Mum got me this notebook. Says it will help me “cope” with being in this new universe. With losing you. But I’m not giving up. I will find a way back to you._

 

The next thing he knew, he was settling into a comfy position.

 

She wrote each day of her heartache but also of hope. Even if he didn’t have every curve of her handwriting memorized, he’d know it was her by the way she lived. Tear-stained pages, yes, but also humor and courage and details like the transition from promising herself she wouldn’t get attached to anyone here to falling in sisterly love with her baby brother. She was indebted with gratitude to coworkers who helped along the way and Pete’s name appeared more and more often as a trusted father.

 

She never lost faith that she would find the Doctor, but the letters betrayed her shifting sense of home. Reading between the lines, she fit here. Rose tended to find a way to blend in and endear herself to others no matter where she went, but this was a different kind of home and community she had never known. One where she was not only loved but where she had purpose and ambition and where her gifts were being used.

 

Of course, that ambition had been to get back to him. As the dimension cannon project grew more successful, the letters grew shorter and the dates further between. The raw emotion, poured out freely, made him wonder if this little notebook was the only, or at least first, time she had told anyone what happened in the places she landed.

 

The sound of the door to the flat opening had him scrambling to wipe away tears and appear normal. He shoved the diary under the duvet, folded his arms, and crossed his legs.

 

“Doctor? What are you doing in here… fully dressed... sitting on the bed?” Rose’s skeptical look told him he was already caught. He tugged on his ear and tried to play it cool.

 

“Weeeeell, you know, just, um…”

 

She raised an eyebrow before he could continue.

 

“Don’t lie to me, Doctor. It’s never worked before and it’s not working now.”  

 

He sighed and pulled the diary out from under the covers. He expected a slap. He expected her to shout at him for being such a nosy prat. He even wondered if she would kick him out…

 

He did not expect her exhale of soft sadness. “You figured it out, then.”

 

“Yes, yes, I… wait, figured what out?” He tilted his head to the side in intrigue, prompting her to smile a little and come closer.

 

“You read it?”

 

“.... Yes.”

 

“Then you saw they are all letters—”

 

“—To me. Yeah.”

 

She nodded.

 

“Did you get to the end?”

 

“The end?”

 

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Alright, budge up then.”

 

He scooted over and allowed her to join him. She tucked herself into his side and took the diary from his hands. To his slight surprise, she opened it to the last entry and began reading.

 

_“Dear Doctor,_

_I found you. Just like I promised I would. And you promised me forever this time. Or at least, the forever we have to give. I love you and I’m never letting you go again. I suppose this is my last letter, since we now have each other here, in person. Maybe you’ll be reading this someday, as soon as I have the courage to give it to you, but please know this: You were worth it all._

 

“Rose... I…”

 

“It’s ok. I wanted you to read it, don’t you see? I left it here for you. I should have just given it to you myself, but, well...” she shrugged and exhaled an embarrassed huff, “well, to be honest, I was scared. Of what you’d think.”

 

“What I’d think? Oh, I think you’re brilliant. You were magnificent, Rose, every page. Thank you.”

 

“Thought it’d be easier. Than having to tell it all, I mean.”

 

“Yeah, I only wish I had the same for you.” Suddenly, he felt quite empty-handed.

 

She shook her head. “’S alright. Tell me bit by bit. Adventures and trouble and people and monsters… No rush, just whenever you feel like sharin’. We’ve got a lifetime to hear each other’s stories.”   

 

“I promise,” he returned, meaning it with all his heart. Not just that he would be open with her in ways he’d never been open with anyone, but also that he was promising her a lifetime.

 

She sighed happily and cuddled closer—at least, until her stomach rumbled. She kissed his jawline and slowly extracted herself from his arms. He moved to protest, but his stomach rumbled as well.

 

“Time for lunch. C’mon, Time Lord.” She giggled and beckoned to him to get up too. But before she could make a joke about his time abilities being no better in this body than the previous ones, he stood and kissed her fully.

 

After a moment, he pulled back slightly. “It doesn’t have to be the last.”

 

“Hmm?” She eyed his lips again, but he needed her to hear this.

 

“The letters. They don’t have to end. We can keep writing them to each other. Maybe when there’s something easier to say on paper or we’re apart or we just want to remember.”

 

“Yeah, I like that. You gonna write me love letters, Doctor?”

 

“Well, yes. And maybe some naughty ones too, if you play your cards right,” he challenged.

 

She flushed but returned in kind: “If you play your cards right, you won’t need a letter.”

 

Knowing they needed lunch before any such activities, he simply kissed her again and planned for how he could shower her with all the love she deserved for all she had been through to ensure they could live this life together.

 


End file.
